Various earthmoving implements, such as bulldozer blades, buckets, scraper bowls and the like, have been extensively developed to either increase the service life of those parts subjected to high wear, or to simplify the removal and replacement thereof. For example, sectionalized cutting edges have been widely adopted so that the members thereof may be individually removed from the implement frame for replacement or servicing without the expense of replacing the entire cutting edge. It is well known that the outside leading corners of these implements are particularly prone to damage and high wear as the result of more frequent engagement with rocks, for example. Consequently, these corner members or end bits are made conveniently replaceable, as by securing them to the implement by a plurality of retaining bolts. Unfortunately, after an extended period of use the bolts and associated members deform and corrode, and are simply not easily replaceable. Representative of these end bits are U.S. Pat. No. 2,732,639 issued Jan. 31, 1956 to M. R. Lillengreen; U.S. Pat. No. 2,914,868 issued Dec. 1, 1959 to E. L. Launder; and U.S. Pat. No. 2,965,989 issued Dec. 27, 1960 to M. R. Hibbard. In order to increase the ability of these earthmoving implements to penetrate rather than to glide over hard or frozen earth, it has been found advantageous to add forwardly and downwardly extending integral adapters to the end bits along with replaceable wear tips therefor. This type of arrangement is disclosed in aforementioned U.S. Pat. No. 2,914,868. But since this adapter and end bit combination is used to penetrate harder materials, or is used more severely to pry out boulders or the like, the unit loading of the bolts increases so significantly as a result of the markedly greater leverage action thereon that they frequently fail. As a result, complex mounting systems involving more and more bolts are adopted, which only adds to the overall expense incurred. This is particularly true when extra steel is used which does not directly contribute to an extended service life of the leading wear edges thereof.
Illustrative of the wide range of efforts to overcome the above problems are U.S. Pat. No. 2,841,897 issued July 8, 1958 to E. D. Duke and U.S. Pat. 3,851,413 issued Dec. 3, 1974 to P. J. Lukavich. However, as far as is known, none of these solutions offer the corner tooth penetrating and direct force transmitting capability, the implement protecting ability, and the serviceability and service life features to which the present invention is particularly directed.